Many pundits have written Microsoft off in the mobile platform wars, but based on what I heard during a Windows Phone 7 session at VentureBeat’s MobileBeat 2010 conference in San Francisco at the beginning of the week, I am here to tell you that Windows Phone looks promising.

First and most importantly, Microsoft has learned lessons from its Windows Mobile strategy. In allowing several device makers to develop devices for Windows Mobile, it made the… (more…)

While Android’s user base is expected to surpass the iPhone’s, many passionate gamers would tell you that the gaming experience on the iPhone is far better than on Android – primarily because of the buttonless form factor of iPhone, but also because of the superior iPhone graphics. But a panel on mobile gaming at VentureBeat’s MobileBeat 2010 conference today said that’s not the case.

The panel participants all vehemently supported Android over iPhone, although largely… (more…)

Keith Lee, CEO of location-based game service Booyah (pictured) said that manual check-ins to location-based services could be on their way out, to be replaced by automated check-ins. His comments came on a panel at VentureBeat’s MobileBeat conference today.

While checkins may provide an interesting way to announce a user’s location, location-based applications and services could be more useful if checkins are performed automatically and users are offered interesting services such as discount coupons based… (more…)

Android users will surpass iPhone users by the end of 2010, according to statistics collected by Google’s Admob ad network, said Admob Team Manager Brendon Kraham. This is despite the fact that the data usage and number of apps on iPhone (and iPod Touch) far exceed those on Android. How can it be then that Android would surpass iPhone?

Leaving aside the two platforms’ comparative strengths and weaknesses, Android would win primarily because of the… (more…)

In the last few years, Mac OS and Linux have gained popularity; Firefox (and Chrome) has eaten up Internet Explorer’s market share, and Windows Mobile has struggled against the new mobile operating systems iPhone and Android. To top it off, Apple recently launched iPad to leverage its existing lead in mobile apps, and Google is launching Chrome OS (a web-based operating system) based netbooks and tablets. Will Microsoft again survive the challenges and come back strong the way it did in the 90’s (when Netscape threatened to topple Microsoft’s dominance)? (more…)

While most online retailers rightly try to attract bargain hunters — consumers who are comparing prices on several sites — social media strategy and presentation will play an increasingly important role in e-retailers’ success. Better online shopping experience is essential to the consumers who find the online shopping limiting in several areas such as assessing quality of the items, and to those who shop on impulse. (more…)

Pundits are declaring mobile the new PC. The number of mobile phones far outstrips the number of desktops. Mobile phones are available to people in the developing world who never had an opportunity to buy or even use a PC. With phones becoming smarter, there will be even less need for people to own PCs. Microsoft has dominated the PC-based world ever since it drove Apple close to extinction in the mid ’90s. But with… (more…)

Palm was king of the handheld screen when it launched its popular Palm Pilot handheld device back in the 1990s. But it’s since been almost forgotten in a flurry of competitors vying for a slice of the smartphone market. And when it recently tried to launch a phone and underlying operating system that rivaled Apple’s iPhone in elegance and ambition, the phones failed to sell. Given its recent earnings and desperate cash position, it’s clear… (more…)

The mobile app market is heating up, both for paid and free apps. And we’re seeing numerous app developers and content publishers jumping into the market every day looking to make money on this opportunity. If you can get consumers to pay for your app, great. But with all the free apps already available for smartphones and tablet devices such as Apple’s upcoming iPad, many newcomer apps will likely have to be free, too, in… (more…)

(This is part 4 of 6 of “Microsoft: Can Elephants Really Dance?” series. For earlier parts, please follow the links below the post)

It’s been a while since Microsoft’s heyday as the monopolistic king of technology.  Called “too big to innovate”, “inefficient”, and “crippled [by redundancy]”, the bearish outlook on Microsoft’s once glorious future seems pervasive.  But with the highly anticipated Project Natal arriving this year, a healthy 32.5 million Xbox 360 consoles sold, and a blossoming Xbox LIVE community of over 20 million users, Microsoft’s console gaming division has shown everyone that Microsoft can still come up with some cool new tricks. Let’s take a look at how the Xbox 360 is faring against its two fiercest competitors (*cue battle music*). (more…)